November i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
423 
millowne 
100 galk 
fitting and cart- 
of juice at 10- 
men't, and the 
re>ir 1788 there wore only 2!) sheep in 
present time there aro no fewer 
larva), palmer worms, ami insc 
oulture ; no trace of vegetation 
stomach. — Ibid. 
Gas Tar. — An American farmc 
far mixed in a pail of whitewa 
brush to the houses and roosts 
or drive away any lice that m 
is 
(thelati 
pounds 
season 
annual 
counties 
Wati 
several 
with w 
dis-olve 
beans f, 
acquire 
pears a 
quantit; 
ing wit! 
lys that a gill of gas 
whitewash, and applied with a 
I roosts of poultry will destroy 
that may infest them. This 
the merit of doing good, who- 
's of the bee industry for 1S79 
,327 colonies, yielding 1, 107.627 
18 pounds per colony. The 
yielding ouly half the average 
itands at the head of all the 
junds of honey.— Ibid. 
'ion of Ikon. — We learn from 
rnals that by watering plants 
sulphate of iron has been 
inary results may be obtained ; 
grow to double their size, and 
jto ; the same is the case with 
Water kept in a tub with a 
t may also be used for water- 
ing. — Messrs Poriou and Mehay 
have discovered a means by which the residue of distilled 
maizo can be employed either to fatten stock, or 
act as a manure, besides extracting an oil euited for 
the manufrcure of soft soap. The plan rests on the 
well-kuown fact, that the oil contained in the grain, 
remains constantly fixed to the undissolved solid parts, 
and 1 he azotiscd matters rest also for their greater 
portion similarly united. The composition of the cake 
prepared, exhibits but slight variation, and can be 
used in the end, either for food or a fertilizer; 2 
owt. of the refuse yield 6A lb. of a colored oil, and 
22 lb. of feeding cake. M. Ladurean of Lille has 
tested the products ; in poiut of aliment, these products 
are equal to good linseed cake, and as a manure are 
on a par with groundnut refuse — Madras Mail. 
Cotton. — A single discovery has been made by 
accident in connection with some experiments upon 
cotton seed, which may have a widely extended in- 
fluence upon agricultural operations. With a view 
to ascertain the situation of the oil-cells iu th« cott"n 
seed, Professor Thomas Taylor, tho microscopist, was 
Nqueated to make an investigation, and ho fouud 
that one row of these colls constitutes a protection 
to the germinating poiut. The Professor resolved 
further to ascertain how far these defences protected 
the ombryo from agents usually destructive of all 
organic life. Iu using sulphuric acid, he found that 
one result was completely to remove the adherent 
cotton, ho leaving tho brown shell of tho seed clean 
without being visibly affected. Some of the seed that 
had boon thus treated «ns sown, and, to the Surprise 
of every one, it eamo up at hast li\ <• day* earior 
than the seed in its natural state. Several experi- 
incuts were subsequently made, which confirmed the 
fact th.it 1 ho treatment with sulphuric acid stimulated 
tho vitality of tho seed. The gain of live or six 
days' start in the avoidance of early frosts or in the 
raising of early cotton, for which premiums are offered 
in some of the Southern States, cannot be over-esti- 
mated. Another advantage is that owing to the cotton 
hitherto adherent to the seed, the sowing has had to 
be broadcast, which has been, very wasteful. Now 
the clean seed can be sown by means of a drill, 
with tho result of producing a re.-ularity of growth 
which will tend greatly to facilitate the subsequent 
cultivation. The Americans are shrewd enough to 
apply ibis treatment with sulphuric acid to other seeds 
slow of germination. And we cannot but think that 
our English agriculturists will take advantage of this 
suggestion. If we have no seed*, like the palm, 
which take three years to sprout, at any rate there 
are frequently seasons when the power to hasten a 
natural operation will be an immense advantage. — In- 
dian Agriculturist. 
Locusts — Mr. Burrows, the purser of the steamer 
Alvo, tells a sad story of the plague of locusts now 
spreading starvation in the agricultural districts of 
the Columbia. He says that between Carthagena and 
Barranquilla tho lands were as utterly barren of live 
vegetation as though some great fire had swept through 
them, burning and blasting everything in its track. 
" The once magnificent groves of coconut trees were 
to be compared to nothing but a forest of bare poles, 
without a single green twig or leaf. Millions upon 
millions of locusts filled the air like great clouds, and 
the atmosphere iu some places was quite hazy in 
consequence. The ground presented a remarkable ap- 
pearance ; and as the train travelled along, the insects 
were so thick that they looked like small yellow 
waves as they jumped up and down. Not a stalk 
or a blade of grass was any where to be spen. The 
locusts alighted upon us until our clothes were covered 
with them. When we tried to remove them, they 
showed their ravenous condition by attempting to 
bite our fingers. The farmers are it a state of 
terror, as they are perfectly helpless before the plague." 
— Madras Mail. 
Tobacco. — The quantity of tobacco consumed in the 
world must be enormous. Some curious statistics 
relating to tobacco smoking in France appear in the 
Belgian National. It appears that there are 5,671,000 
smokers, eacli person smokes an average of 91b. a 
year. For every fifteen Bmokers, eight smoke pipes, 
five cigars, and two cigarettes. The total consump- 
tion of cigarettes is estimated to be 294, COO, 000, 000 
per annum, that is, 800,000,000 a day, 33,000,000 an 
hour, 550,000 a miuute, 9,166 a second; finaly, if 
all these cigarettes were placed end to end they would 
reach 514 tmes round the globe. This is for France 
alone, and we imagine there are countries where more 
tobacco is used than in France, Germany for instance. 
France makes a considerable profit from the monopoly 
she enjoys iu connection with tobacco, and there is 
no valid reason why tobacco should not be heavily 
taxed. It is clearly a luxury, and not a very good 
one at the best. Tho question of making this article 
a monopoly in India has often been discussed, and 
has invariably been laid aside on account of the diffi- 
culties attending the administration of such a mono- 
poly, and because of its being looked on in India 
as a necessity of life. We do not see much difficulty, 
provided the several native Governments would 
likewise make its cultivation subject to such rules as 
control opium cultivation. Its universal consumption, 
which is urged against the proposal, is, in our 
opinion, the very reason why tobacco is a suitable article 
for monopoly. Excepting salt, it is the ouly article 
on which a tax would bo of universal application, 
and it would unable tho Government to lighten that 
ou salt. This latter, although very light, is open tq 
the objection of being a tax on a pontivo necessity 
of life.— Friend of India. 
